Cold surges along the front range of the Rocky mountains: Development of a classification scheme

Summary A classification scheme for cold surges occurring along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains has been developed using NMC surface and upper air data. A separation is seen in the data between cases with parent anticyclones that moved from Canada south into the United States (Northern type) and those which moved from the Eastern Pacific Ocean east into the central US (Western type). The Northern surges are further broken down into three types, A, B and B, when the degree of southward motion of the anticyclone and the leading edge of the cold air is considered. An anticyclone movement south of 40°N distinguishes type A, while anticyclone tracks remaining north of 40°N characterize types B and B. The leading edge of the surge (the surge line) associated with the type A anticyclone travels south of 25N, while the type B anticyclones produce two distinct surge line movements, one remaining north of 25°N and the other moving south of 25°N. It is not possible to break down the Western surges into distinct types. As a rule, the anticyclones associated with Western surges remain between 50°N and 30°N, with the surge line moving south to 18°N on average.Though the classification scheme is developed in a relatively subjective manner, the statistical robustness of the scheme is verified through application of the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test. Results of the test clearly provide support for the division of the surges that was obtained.With 16 Figures